Official Freewing 80mm EDF F-86 Sabre Thread

[John Bergsmith]

Yes I did repaint the silver. I first used some filler primer ,sanded that then applied some Krylon metalic Aluminum . After letting that dry for a couple of days I finished it with Tamiya Silver Leaf. Thank you all very much for your kind input .Drifty

Outstanding job! How did you remove the stock decals?

[Drifty]

I didn`t remove them. They are water slides so I just sprayed a light cote of filler /primer over them and feather edged the edges. You can`t even tell they were there.

[gooniac33]

I didn`t remove them. They are water slides so I just sprayed a light cote of filler /primer over them and feather edged the edges. You can`t even tell they were there.

Very nice job! The plane looks amazing!!

[t33jetman]

Here`s a couple of picts of my F-86. I just redid the paint scheme while my knee replacement was healing. F-86`s were the first A/C I worked on in 1955 when I joined the AF. This is an A/C from the 92nd FBS/81st FBW RAF Bentwaters 1951. Of course the graphics are from Callie. R.E.Driftmyer CMSgt USAF Retired.

Thank you for your service.

Outstanding repaint.

[rifleman_btx]

I'm planning to get the HP F86. Need the power for the grass field

[John Bergsmith]

Rebalanced my sons F-86 using the tail sit method. Totally transforms the airplane, is does everything much better. It just floats on landing very easily flared! My son approves! 😀

[Phantom]

Rebalanced my sons F-86 using the tail sit method. Totally transforms the airplane, is does everything much better. It just floats on landing very easily flared! My son approves! 😀

The F-86 was the very first jet I did that with, that is to say fly it aft of the recommended CG. I got it in 2015, since then I've flown all my jets aft of the recommended CG and have come to the realization that the recommended CG is nothing more than a nose heavy "safety margin" for "novices."

It allows any pilot, even a brand new pilot who should probably not be flying an advanced airplane, to take off and have a reasonably stall free flight. But the majority of the time the landings will be ruff, if not disastrous due to the nose heavy characteristics. Add suspension to the nose gear, and the additional speed required for a nose heavy bird, and damage is almost guaranteed.

I have about 85% of Motion RC's EDF lineup, plus many LX's, FMS, E-flight, etc... There isn't a one of them that I don't fly 5 to 10mm or more aft of the manufactures recommended CG. I usually cringe at the maiden flight's landing, and as I walk the CG back little by little on the successive flights I start to relax until I find her sweet spot. Par for the course, starting out with excessive nose heavy CG in this hobby I guess...

[Mark 2]

Yes I agree up to a point, but I wouldn’t recommend going any further aft on the CG than the tail sit test position, with the F86 at least. Any further back than that and it will drop a wing on you if you’re not careful. The downwind to base leg turn with flaps down is a time when it will catch you if you have an aft CG and you’re not ready for it.

[Kmot]

I was just trial fitting my wing halves together. And I saw that where the EDF is supposed to sit, there is a difference of about 1/8-3/16 of an inch on the saddle. I went ahead and glued the wings halves together. The bottoms of the wings are flush at the center line. I think I should probably carve out that saddle to make it even. This kinda sux...

I'm not a foam carver. Probably don't have the proper tools to do it right.

[Skyboom]

That's a drag. I'd test fit the edf unit first. There's a slim chance you may have to add to the saddle half. If not a course sand paper should remove the foam easily enough.

[Kmot]

Wow, never thought of that angle! Needing to build up the low side...

Well anyway, I have just ordered an electric foam knife. I will probably use sand paper to finish up. But now, yeah I better check the fit first and see what's what.

[Kmot]

Okay, I trial fitted the wing today, and it will not go all the way down in the rear. So the foam will have to be carved away.

[Kmot]

I wish that Freewing quality control had caught this bad wing and scrapped it. The oversized saddle area is not the only problem. The top of the wing has holes in it, that were painted over. When I first saw it, I was really upset. I later learned that it will actually be inside the fuselage, so it won't show on the outside. However, what is going to happen when the plane is in flight and the gear is lowered? The b last of air up in the wheel well will most likely blow those broken pieces loose and into the fan, damaging the blades. Another reason this wing should have been caught by QC and scrapped.

For years I have read online "Freewing makes the best" but here is my very first Freewing model and it has some serious issues. So far.

[Captain Moron]

I take it you brought it from Motion RC ,if so give them a call their Customer Service is excellent .They will get it sorted for you

[James]

I wish that Freewing quality control had caught this bad wing and scrapped it. The oversized saddle area is not the only problem. The top of the wing has holes in it, that were painted over. When I first saw it, I was really upset. I later learned that it will actually be inside the fuselage, so it won't show on the outside. However, what is going to happen when the plane is in flight and the gear is lowered? The b last of air up in the wheel well will most likely blow those broken pieces loose and into the fan, damaging the blades. Another reason this wing should have been caught by QC and scrapped.

For years I have read online "Freewing makes the best" but here is my very first Freewing model and it has some serious issues. So far.

Sorry to see that. No manufacturer is perfect, but its the support that counts. Did you buy from us at Motion RC? If so please contact our customer service team and we will definitely rectify this for you. Obviously don't fly it or it could void any warranty. But even if you didn't buy from us, a real Freewing dealer should be pretty reputable and help you out if not.

[Skyboom]

You may not need the electric foam knife after all. I bought the foam hot wire cutter and used it once in 2 years. Just don't breathe in the smoke when your cutting. It's highly toxic. I'd do it outside with good ventilation.

[Kmot]

Sorry to see that. No manufacturer is perfect, but its the support that counts. Did you buy from us at Motion RC? If so please contact our customer service team and we will definitely rectify this for you. Obviously don't fly it or it could void any warranty. But even if you didn't buy from us, a real Freewing dealer should be pretty reputable and help you out if not.

Yes, I purchased it from Motion RC. In July. Order #418589. It sat NIB until this week when I finally was able to get to it and started assembly. I did contact Motion RC customer service about it the other day. I was told the warranty is 30 days, and that I should have inspected the plane sooner. I was told to go ahead and fill out a support ticket and maybe Freewing might help. Then I learned that the holes in the wing would be inside the fuselage so I told them to cancel the ticket because it would not show and be a cosmetic issue. Then later I thought about the FOD it might create, sheesh. It also had a bad y-harness for the rudder. The rudder would not work when connected up to the long lead through the rear of the fuselage. I traced it to the y-harness and found it was dead.

I am going to apply some tape over those areas with the holes in them so that no FOD gets loose inside there. I am going to trim the saddle area with the hot knife. Hopefully these will be the only issues and that ultimately it will be a good airplane.

[C17loadmaster]

I’ve had those holes on almost every F-86 wing I’ve owned. Which is around 3 sets... they are only an eyesore when looking in the wheel well with the gear extended. They are on the outside of the thrust tube and pinched between the wing and fuselage with nowhere to go. I just put a piece of silver tape on each side to forget about it.
The carve away is easy if you cut aft to front. Just don’t mess up where the inlet flange fits into the pre-cut slot. Even so, that’s an easy fix. That area is just going to rest up against the EDF so it doesn’t need to look perfect. I actually use a footlong rounded file with teeth, not flat grooves. And remove foam until the fan housing is perfect. (I have a spare housing I set in the mold) My jet has the FMS 2100kv EDF unit, so I have shaved foam on this plane and multiple others.

I know it’s not perfect... but every plane has some quirks. This plane is always wing issues... mainly the retract glue between the mount and the wing. If I were you I would take care of that too while you’re at it. I at least one on each set has broken free fairly early.

If you ruin the wing I’ll give you a new one.

Other than that the plane is awesome. It’s a piece of cake to fly. Also, my landing flaps are set at about an 80 degree angle haha Its at around jogging speed on touchdown

[Kmot]

C17loadmaster: Thank you! I appreciate the insight and information. Hot knife arrived this morning, so I am getting ready to attack it.

[Kmot]

Job done. The hot knife worked extremely well. I followed up with a little bit of half round file and then a roll of tape that matched the arc and had 120 grit sand paper. I also used the hot knife to cut the duct lip deeper as it also was molded much to high. I finished with some gray water based paint to seal the open foam and then just spread it around a bit. I also put some silver duct tape over those break-through holes.The wing is now attached to the fuselage. Not without some issues though. The construction book calls for two 3x10mm screws in the rear and two 3x20 screws in the front of the wing to secure it to the fuselage. The factory only included four 3x10 screws. I tried them in the front holes and they would not bite into anything. I looked for some other sheetmetal screws and found some Great Planes #4 x 1" sheetmetal screws that used a 1.5mm hex driver. Big mistake, that almost ruined my day. I was dubious about the small hex driver for such a large screw, but tried them anyway. Yep, one of them started to strip and round out half way in. Oh bummer. I took my 1.5mm driver and ground the tip to make it good and flat and was able to back out the offending screw. Then I did what I should have done in the first place. I tapped the front holes for 3mm machine screws and used those instead. Now to check the gear mounts...